Warriors are those who make their way through
the world via skill at arms and physical
exertion. Fictional Fantasy if full of all
different sorts of Warriors, from thick-hewed
axemen to lithe fencers, and every permutation
in between and beyond. Many players want
nothing more than a character that can wield
a weapon and wield it well.

In AD&D 2nd Edition there were three
basic types of Warriors available for play;
Fighter, Paladin, and Ranger. The following
guidelines provide advice on how to take
an AD&D character from one of those
classes and convert them into the HERO System.

FIGHTERS

Fighters are ultimately the deadliest hand
to hand combatants in AD&D, surpassing
all other classes and even other Warrior
subclasses in sheer physical nastiness.
Examples of Fighters in Fantasy Fiction
range from Karl Culinane to Wulfgar son
of Beornagar, King Arthur, and so on.

While other classes develop special abilities
and practice arcane arts, Fighters concentrate
on improving their fighting skills and developing
their physical abilities.

In the HERO System, a Fighter would be well
advised to put almost all of his points
into more Combat Levels and into buying
his Characteristics higher. Remember when
increasing Characteristics, that everything
costs double when you go above your character's
Racial Characteristic Maxima.

More Attacks per Round was one of the major
advantages Fighters had over most other
Classes in AD&D 2e and bears special
consideration when converting into the HERO
System. For starters, all Characters are
going to get more "attacks per round",
or per minute to be more accurate, in the
HERO System because the basic design of
the combat system revolves around 12 second
Turns in which all Characters make at least
1 action, and often many more than 1. There
are several mechanisms available to ensure
that Fighters specifically and Warriors
generally maintain their edge in melee.

SPEED

The most direct method of increasing one's
actions is to simply buy more SPEED. However
since Fantasy HERO is a Heroic level game,
with Normal Characteristic Maxima in place,
this can get expensive once the Maxima has
been hit. Due to the "force multiplying"
effect of SPEED, many GM's will also actively
resist Character concepts pertaining to
increasing it too far. However, if your
GM is amenable, even a single point of SPEED
over the Characteristic Maxima can give
a solid Warrior a definite edge and should
be considered.

Sweep is a Maneuver accessible to all Characters
for free which allows a Character to attack
multiple opponents in HtH as long as they
are within melee range, but at a stiff penalty.
To ensure superiority at it, a Fighter could
buy several +2 OCV Combat Skill Levels with
Sweep.

Alternately, with your GM's permission,
you can buy Autofire x3 with up to a 4d6
HKA, OIF (Weapon of Opportunity (-1/2)).
This is a personal ability inherent to the
Character, an it is usable with any weapon
of the appropriate type. This will enable
your Warrior to strike multiple times with
each attack as described under Autofire.

Alternately, with your GM's permission,
you can buy a special Attack Power that
allows you to do damage to more than 1 opponent
at a time. You can use variations on Area
of Effect: Any Area with No Range to indicate
an ability to accurately attack all the
hexes adjacent to your character for example.
This is likely the most expensive option
presented, but also makes for interesting
flavor for a given Character; also, don't
forget the advantage of only needing to
hit a hexes DCV of 3! Presented below is
an example of this sort of Power.

A feature unique to the Fighter (at least
originally), this ability was a significant
advantage in terms of sheer punishment that
a Fighter with his chosen weapon in hand
could dish out. Fortunately, there are endless
variations on how to accomplish this in
the HERO System.

Combat Skill Levels

Simply buying CSL's with your attacks goes
a long way towards covering Weapon Specialization.
Don't forget that CSL's can also be converted
into extra damage.

You can buy a custom Martial Art for the
weapon of choice, granting you interesting
attacks and some secondary benefits that
are difficult to match. Consider the Fencer
example given for Martial Arts for ideas
on how to do this for a give weapon, and
consult the Ultimate Martial Artist by HERO
Games for more details on custom arts and
maneuvers.

Another very viable way to depict mastery
of a weapon is to buy 1 or more powers (typically
HKA) with OIF: {Weapon} of Opportunity.
Variable SFX can also be applied to allow
you to use the attack with more than just
one type of weapon.

Alternately, with GM Permission, you can
avoid the upfront cost of the Power and
simply buy Advantages as Naked Power Advantages.
A Fighter that could apply Armor Piercing,
Autofire x3, or Penetrating to their attacks
would be deadly indeed. This approach is
much cheaper, and some GM's might restrict
it as part of an ongoing effort to counter
power scaling.

In 2nd Edition people would hear about what
a bad ass a Fighter was, and would show
up to follow them, automatically once the
Fighter got to a certain Level threshold.
There are a few ways to handle this in the
HERO System detailed
here.

Strongholds

In 2nd Edition a Fighter would eventually
end up with an estate of some sort if they
survived long enough. There are a few ways
to handle this in the HERO System.

Treat them as Story Elements

The GM might be persuaded to treat them
as Story Elements completely under is own
control.

The place where I currently live at the
GM's whim: Real Cost: 0 points

Ignore them

If the Stronghold doesn't actually do anything
for your Character, don't worry about it;
it's just background flavor.

The Crib: Real Cost: 0 points

Base Perk

The most straightforward (and expensive)
method is to simply buy the Stronghold using
the Base Perk.

The Castle: Base (115 Cost, 0 Disadvantages)
Real Cost: 23 points

Source of Income

Another way to look at a Stronghold or the
like is as the SFX of the Money perk. The
only relevance of the property to your Character
is that it generates cash flow. You might
even own several such locations, which all
generate a tidy little fortune for you.

Exotic Warriors are those who develop special
abilities, often magical, in addition to
their martial skills but are still primarily
warriors. There are an unlimited number
of different 'types' of Exotic Warriors;
many 'types' consist of a single unique
individual. These types range from Warriors
who are granted gifts from a greater being
in return for service and worship, to rakish
swashbucklers who've learned a thing or
two about second story work, to Psionic
wild talents to Spell slinging swordsmen,
etc, ad infinitum. Examples in literature
range from Perrin Aybara to Drizz't Do'Urden,
from Mark of Tasvalta to Haplo of the Nexus.

Consult the Exotic Warrior column of the
AD&D 2nd Edition Class
Level to Character Points Chart
to determine how many Character Points your
Character has available to them in the HERO
System. Either use one of the Exotic Warrior
Package Deals provided above or create your
own.

Exotic Warriors in AD&D 2nd Edition

There were two 'types' of Exotic Warriors
available for PC use in AD&D 2nd Edition;
the Paladin and the Ranger. With the use
of the various Handbooks and the Players
Option: Skills and Powers book this number
expanded quite a bit. Also, old school players
can remember the glorious days of Unearthed
Arcana and the many (admittedly unbalanced)
options contained therein, such as the Barbarian,
and before that the days of Assassins and
Monks. Many of these classes have made a
return to D&D 3e, and for good reason:
they added a lot of flavor to the game.

EXOTIC WARRIOR CLASS ABILITY CONSIDERATIONS

Since each type of Exotic Warrior is a unique
entity unto itself, there are few tips to
give in general. FSor the common Warrior
abilities see above under AD&D 2nd Edition
Fighter Conversion
Fighter Class Ability Conversions
for many ideas that apply to Exotic Warriors
as well as Fighters.